Seven Minutes
by Freedom Fighter
Summary: Eric and Vana get stuck in close quarters, and they have to find a way out.  But will they instead end up finding a way into each other's hearts?  Or will Vana just kill Eric before it gets that far?


**"Seven Minutes"**  
><strong>Story Written by Freedom Fighter<strong>

This is my second "Sidekick" fanfic, though this one was supposed to come out before the other one, "The Not-The-Biggest-Loser Bowl Jr." But as you know, scheduling snafus, busy schedule, no drive to write for a few months, blah, blah.

So, let's just get right to it! Here's "Seven Minutes."

**Disclaimer:** The characters of 'Sidekick' belong to Nelvana, YTV, and Cartoon Network.

**-**  
><strong>Seven Minutes (02.13.12)<strong>  
><strong>-<strong>

Eric had invited Trevor, Vana, and Kitty to the Maxum Mansion, but for what purpose? They were about to find out as the trio walked up to him in the lobby.

"Boy, am I glad to see you guys!"

Trevor and Kitty were excited to hear what was in store. But Vana was not, and she wanted to get it over with. So she just jumped straight to the point.

"We're helping you clean the Mansion, aren't we?"

She pointed out the white designer jeans she had on under her dress. Not exactly a cleaning outfit. Still, Eric took the question in stride.

"I couldn't think of any three friends better to help!"

"**I CALL THE CONFISCATED VILLAINS WEAPONS VAULT!**" yelled Trevor.

He turned to run, and ran right smack into Maxum Brain.

"No, no, no!" he scolded Trevor. "No way! Not after what happened last time!"

"Oh, come on!" whined Trevor as he pulled his face off of the screen. "After it was over, the only casualty was a chicken! And he was finger lickin' good, if I recall."

Trevor then proceed to lick his right index finger.

"Ummmm... that was so lickin' good!"

"This time," Brain stated, "you'll work in pairs. Easier to track you in case you go and destroy something!"

Kitty, Eric, Vana, and Trevor shouted their preferences, in order.

"I call Eric!"

"I call Vana!"

"I call Kitty!"

"I call myself!"

The trio shot odd looks at Trevor. Meanwhile, unamused by the expected results of letting everyone pick their partner, Brain had an idea to fairly split the group up.

"Here. We will draw straws."

His face filled with a picture of four straws, numbered one to four from left to right. The bottom half of the picture had been blacked out, though, to hide their true lengths.

"The two who pick the straws that are of the same exact length will be paired up, leaving the two inexact ones to match up with each other!"

"I call one!" Vana quickly shouted. "Since I'm number one, naturally!"

"Two!" bellowed Kitty.

"Three! Three!" exclaimed Trevor.

"That means I'm four?" asked Eric. "Um, okay."

Brain then revealed the results. Straws two and three were shown to be the same length, meaning the pairings were Kitty and Trevor and Vana and Eric.

"**YES!**" shouted Eric.

"**NO!**" screamed both of the girls.

"Too bad, so sad, no take backs," declared Brain.

The pairs were then whisked off before any could appeal the decision.

* * *

><p>Some time later, Eric and Vana were both busy cleaning Maxum Man's bedroom. They started on opposite sides of the room, with Vana hard at work dusting a bookcase, while Eric was taking the sheets off of Maxum's bed to be washed. He stopped after a few minutes, though, as he saw that Vana was so absorbed in her work that she was not paying attention to where he was.<p>

"This is my chance to get close to Vana," he told himself.

He slowly slid in her direction, right until he was standing right next to her.

"So, Vana... what's up?"

She groaned. "Eric, I don't have time for useless chatter! I'm here to help clean, and that's it! Now, back to the other side of the room, like we agreed!"

Eric sighed and turned to head back, but he only took two steps before stopping. Vana did not seem to notice that he was not following her instructions, though, because her eye had caught an object sparkling nearby. She grabbed it, and it resembled a magic 8-ball. There was one difference: it had a '7' on it, not an '8'.

"Hmmmm..."

She then noticed that the '7' was actually a button. Curious, she pressed it, and instantly, an assortment of clicking and whirring sounds filled the air. Then, without warning, everything went dark...

"**HEY!**" shouted Eric. "Who turned out the lights?"

"And why am I no longer standing?" questioned Vana, noting her change in position. "And furthermore..."

She took a deep breath, then screamed...

"**WHY ARE YOU TOUCHING ME?**"

Vana pushed forward with her arms, thrusting them right into Eric's stomach. But she did not succeed in pushing him away from her because Eric's back was already against the wall. Literally. And yet...

"Ow! Ow! **OW! BACK! BREAKING! INTO! MANY! PIECES!**"

Vana continued to slam Eric into the aforementioned wall anyway. But after a few dozen attempts, she finally stopped.

"Okay," an aching, but smiling Eric, groaned, "now what?"

"Something must have happened," reasoned Vana, "and it's your fault."

"My fault? But, but..."

"'Cause everyone knows I'm too smart and fabulous to do something like press a button and get trapped in a dark, tight, enclosed space with you on purpose. That's totally a Trevor thing! And perhaps a you thing, too."

Eric gasped. "We have to get out of here!"

"Relax, Needles! I got this!"

She rammed her right elbow backwards, hitting the wall behind her with it. But, try as she might, she could not break through.

"What the... what is this thing made of?"

"That's it!" Eric came to a decision. "I'm calling for help!"

Eric used his wristwatch communicator to get a hold of Trevor...

* * *

><p>...who was elsewhere in the mansion with Kitty when he heard Eric's voice.<p>

"Trevor! Trevor!"

Trevor looked down at his wrist and saw Eric's face. Well, the part that was illuminated by his display.

"Where are you? And how is it dark there?"

He asked that because he was near a window, from which plenty of sunlight was beaming into the room.

"Look, Trevor! Vana and I are kinda in a jam..."

Vana appeared on Trevor's screen, after she had pulled Eric's watch closer to her. At that same exact moment, Kitty had joined Trevor, and she was listening in as well.

"One minute we were in Maxum Man's bedroom - it's **EVERYTHING** you would've dreamed it to be, by the way - and the next, we're in this dark, cramped room! Get up here and get us out, before I suffocate thanks to Needles' bad breath!"

"**HEY!**" Eric shouted from off-screen. "Just for that, I'm not offering you half of my bean-and-onion sandwich!"

With that, Vana signed off. Trevor and Kitty glanced at each other, then made a bolt for the stairs. They ran up to the second floor, then down the long hallway and into the master bedroom, all in about 23 seconds. Upon stepping inside, they saw something clearly out of place.

A black billiard ball, seven feet in diameter, was at rest in the center of the room, kept still by a fallen bookcase and its contents on one side and the outer frame of Maxum Man's king-sized bed on the other. Near the center was a small, white circle, and within that, was the number seven, colored in black.

"**A MAGIC 8-BALL!**" Trevor squealed with glee. "**AWESOME!**"

Trevor ran towards it...

"**WAIT!**" Kitty shouted. "First, that's a seven, not an eight, and second, I don't think..."

But it was too late. Trevor was already right in front of it, and he was already deep in thought, intending to ask it a question.

"Ooh, **OOH!** I should ask if it's made of cheese! **ARE YOU MADE OF CHEESE?**"

Trevor then went to the right and attempted to roll the ball. Or, at the very least, rock it back and forth to get an answer to his question.

* * *

><p>But as he did so, inside the ball Eric and Vana were being tossed about from one side to the other. Occasionally, one of them would briefly end up on the chamber's ceiling before, thanks to the power of gravity, falling down and landing on the other person.<p>

* * *

><p>"<strong>STOP!<strong>" Kitty yelled at Trevor. "You don't even know what that does!"

"Fine!" Trevor said, obeying Kitty's request. "But only because this thing is broken! **I WANT MY ANSWER!**"

Suddenly, Trevor's watch began to beep again. It answered the call automatically.

"Get **OFF** me!"

"But you're on me!"

Trevor snickered when he saw both Eric and Vana trying to squish both of their own faces into the view screen.

"Heh heh... you guys look funny together."

"Trevor!" Eric shouted. "Something just happened! Everything went spinny, and Vana and I kept bumping heads! And limbs, and bones, and..."

Kitty grabbed Trevor's arm and pulled it towards her so that she could speak to Eric.

"Okay! We're in Maxum Man's room! We found this giant billiard ball that, if you don't mind me saying, looks out of place."

She turned the screen towards the side of the ball where the number '7' was visible.

"That looks like the one on the shelf!" exclaimed Eric. "Only... I don't remember it being that big."

Trevor snickered off to the side. "That's what **SHE** said!"

"Something must've happened when Vana touched it! But what?"

Trevor kicked the ball so that it rolled a few inches, towards the window.

"**AAH!** It's moving again!"

"Hmmm..." murmured Trevor.

He went on the other side and kicked it, almost back to where it was before.

"Hmmm..."

He switched sides, then kicked the ball again. Then he returned to the other side, and kicked it once more. He kept going back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth...

* * *

><p>...all the while, Eric and Vana felt themselves rolling in the same direction as the ball was moving, both of them screaming as they were tossed about like lettuce in a salad.<p>

After about 20 seconds, though, it stopped...

* * *

><p>Trevor was bent over, with his hands on his knees, gasping for air after nearly exerting himself to the point of unconsciousness.<p>

"I... think... I... got it!" Trevor said between breaths.

"I hope so," a green-faced Eric said. "I don't feel good..."

"Not in here!" shouted Vana. "If you ruin my designer jeans, I swear I'll make your life a living He-"

"Hey!" interrupted Kitty. "Maxum Brain will know what to do! We'll be right back!"

With that, Kitty ended the call.

* * *

><p>It went dark inside the gigantic billiard ball, with the only thing that both Eric and Vana could see were the other's eyes. For a brief moment, they just stared at each other. And then Eric began gagging again, as his nauseated state bubbled back to his mind.<p>

"Oh, gee... here we... gulp!"

"What did I say, Needles? Suck it up and swallow, **OR ELSE!**"

Vana then heard Eric gulp loudly, followed by the gurgling sound of the barf returning from where it had came from, beginning in his throat and working its way downwards, until after five seconds, the noises came to a stop.

"See? Was that so hard?" Vana asked, condescendingly.

"Yes! Now the next time it comes up, it'll be ten times worse!"

"As long as I'm not near you when it happens, **I** could care less!"

"So, now what? There's nothing to do until Kitty and Trevor get back with Maxum Brain."

"Why do we have to wait? I'm confident that I can get us out of here, no problem!"

"That's what you said the first time, Vana."

"**DUCK!**"

"Duck? Where? **AAAAAAHHHHH!**"

Eric slid his head into his shirt just in time, as Vana had kicked at the wall right where his head had been with all of her might. All that managed to do was get the ball rolling again, literally. It moved about a foot, which was just enough to force Vana to roll forward and land right on top of Eric.

"Oof!" grunted Eric as he felt Vana land head-first in his stomach.

He then heard Vana groan, before the pressure on his own stomach went down as she lifted her head off of it. But then he felt something else of Vana's press against a different part of his body. Eric felt warm as his body did its own thing, self-reacting by pushing back against the pressure.

"Unh..."

He suddenly heard Vana groan again, in a more suggestive tone. It was quickly followed by the sound and sensation of Vana slapping him hard across the face with her left hand.

"**EEW!** Freak!"

"**WHAT?**" Eric was in a panic, as he made out Vana's outline as she pushed up into a back-straight, kneeling position. "What did I do?"

"Oh, like you don't know!"

"Come on! I couldn't control that! It was natural!"

"Well, you being natural is disgusting!"

"I can't help it that you're hot!"

Eric then gasped, realizing what he had just said aloud. He covered his mouth with his hands, but it was well too late to take it back. He took a glance over at Vana, and tried to read what her reaction was through her eyes. Since that's all he could see of her, anyway.

But Vana was being surprisingly silent. Eric came to the conclusion that was the worst reaction that he was expecting. Even worse than her hitting him.

"Um, Vana? Vana? Vana!"

Vana, who had been shocked into a state of disbelief. Upon hearing Eric repeatedly say his name, though, she finally snapped out of it and delivered her verbal response.

Which involved a ton of hysterical laughter.

"OMG, I've called you pathetic several times now, but this is a whole new kind of pathetic. Even for you!"

"**HEY!**"

"I don't need someone like you saying I'm hot! I **KNOW** that I'm hot. So if you thought that ploy was gonna earn you any sympathy from me, you're sadly mistaken."

"But Vana!"

"Not listening!"

With that, Eric saw Vana move away from him, as she leaned back into a sitting position. Things then went quiet for all of five seconds.

"Speaking of hot," Vana spoke up once more, "it is getting kinda hot in here, don't you think?"

Eric nodded in agreement, as he could feel sweat running down his forehead, near his eyes. He then heard a number of sounds, almost all at once, coming from Vana's side of the ball. They were, in no particular order: Vana grunting, her two feet stomping on the 'floor' just inches from his own feet, and the unzipping of an article of clothing.

"Vana? What are you doing?"

Vana realized that Eric was watching her, and although he could not clearly see what she was doing, she did not want him watching.

"No peeking!"

"What?"

"Close 'em or lose 'em, Eric!"

Eric sighed as he complied with Vana's request, even as he had already figured out what she was doing. And that was making him even hotter thinking about what he would be seeing right now if there had been light. He could still hear her, though.

"**COME OFF, YOU STUPID THINGS! UGH!**"

He heard Vana audibly struggle for seven seconds or so.

"**A-HA!** Finally!"

Vana then began humming to herself as she did something with whatever she had just taken off. Believing it was okay to look, Eric opened his eyes.

"There." Vana sighed with relief. "Much better! My legs can breathe, finally!"

"Legs? You mean..."

"Yep!"

Eric wanted to make sure he was not dreaming. He had to make sure. He slid closer to Vana, raised his right leg slightly in the air, and used it to rub against her left leg. There was no mistaking it. He felt her smooth, moisturized skin contrasting against his rough and dry one. That led him to prying for deeper confirmation.

"Uh, so you took off your jeans, right? That means you're in nothing but your under-**OW!**"

Vana stopped him right there, locking Eric's leg in a scissor lock with her own two legs.

"What kind of girl do you think I am? Was wearing my dress over my pants, remember?"

"Ow, ow, **OW!**" Eric was howling in pain.

Vana rolled her eyes, then she released her grip on Eric.

"Even if I **WAS** that kind of girl, I still wouldn't be flaunting it for someone like you."

Eric started massaging his leg with his hands, trying to numb away the pain of it being nearly crushed. That ache, along with Vana's ribbing, was getting him hot for an entirely different reason. He was getting fed up with Vana, and he was going to make sure she knew he did not like how he was being treated.

"You flaunt it every single day, Vana! Every time I see you, you're flaunting it! You plainly offer it up to anyone willing to take a gander at you! But when someone you don't think is nearly as popular as you are takes a look, you berate them for looking!"

"Your point?"

"My **POINT**? Vana, you only have other guys like me gawking creepily at you because you want to be paid attention to! You reel us in, and then you shoot us down after getting our hopes up! You're such a tease!"

"Me, a tease?" Vana sounded as if she was in disbelief. "As if."

"Really? Prove it!"

Eric had put Vana in a corner. He had just called out for being an attention monger. He thought there was no way she would prove she was anything but a tease.

"Ohh, Eric," Vana cooed, flirtatiously, "certainly you can make an exception for cute, little ol' me?"

She batted her eyelashes at him. But Eric would not be swayed that easily. "You'll have to do better than that!"

Vana complied without hesitation as she crawled over until she was situated directly over Eric. They were face to face, staring directly into each other's eyes, with her legs straddling his pelvis. Again, Eric felt his body begin to act on its own, even more so as Vana upped the ante by lowering her body until it was lying directly on top of his.

"Would someone who's teasing do this?"

She leaned in closer and puckered her lips, aiming to plant a big, wet one right on Eric's mouth. He felt his breathing get shallow, his sweat become more profuse, and his lower body tighten up.

And then, just as she was inches away...

"Time's up!"

Vana stopped short upon hearing Maxum Man's voice. They both heard an assortment of gears and latches click and whirr around them. The voice continued his outro.

"Thank you for using the Maxum Seven Minutes in Heaven Ball of Reward Justice! Please remember to clean up any slobber after each use!"

Before they knew it, the large ball that had encapsulated them had disappeared. Or, rather, it had returned to its display size, which was, coincidentally, seven inches in diameter. Upon emerging from the chamber, they heard audible gasping from three sources. They turned their heads and saw Trevor, Kitty, and Maxum Brain standing - or hovering, in Brain's case - there. In addition, Kitty was on the verge of bursting into tears.

And for good reason. Vana was still lying on top of Eric, with their lips mere inches apart. And Vana's designer jeans had been folded up and were sitting on the ground, by their feet.

Seeing herself in a compromised position, Vana acted accordingly.

"**I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME IN THE DARK, ERIC!**"

She slapped him hard across the face, then got to her feet.

"**OW!** So it **WAS** all a tease!"

Vana froze in her tracks. Kitty was no longer sad; she was now angry.

"Vana. What does Eric mean by 'all a tease?'"

Before Vana could answer, Maxum Brain cut in... to berate Eric.

"Look at this mess! I should've known better than to leave you in charge of cleaning Maxum Man's sleeping quarters!"

Eric tried to explain himself. "But..."

"No buts! Now, get out while I finish the cleaning of this room myself!"

He pointed for the door, and the teens started heading for it. Trevor led the way, followed by Vana, with jeans in hand, and then Kitty and Eric. The Asian girl had dropped back to check on her crush's condition.

"What did Vana try to do to you? The only girl who's allowed to be in a dark room with you and whisper sweet nothings into your ear is me! Perhaps Monday, after school, in your locker?"

Eric did a double take. "What?"

To which Kitty replied, "What?"

A few seconds later, they exited the room. Trevor was already long out of sight, and Kitty was just about as well. Eric was following her, but was stopped when Vana grabbed him and pulled him around the corner and into an adjacent corridor. Eric noted that she had a sad look on her face, but that did not deter him from saying what was on his mind.

"So, you going to admit it? That you're just a tease?"

"On the contrary, Eric..."

She leaned forward and completed her unfinished business. She kissed Eric on the lips. Not on the forehead. Not on the tip of his nose. Not even on the cheek. Right smack on his lips. And it was not a quick one, either. She held it there for four seconds before finally pulling back out.

"So," Eric blurted out afterwards, "does that mean you like me?"

"I suppose," she replied. "Though, first, you have to learn how to be a better kisser."

She winked at him, and then started walking off, in the direction that Trevor and Kitty had gone off in. Eric reached up to his lips with his hand and ran his fingers over it. He could feel remnants of Vana's lip gloss as he did so, and he sighed in pure bliss.

"I can't believe it. Me and Vana... kissed! Oh, boy, I can't wait to tell all my friends!"

"Oh!"

He heard Vana shouting at him. He turned around and saw that she had stopped to say something, even though her back was still to him.

"If you tell anyone, I'll deny it! You understand, right?"

Eric lowered his head in shame. "Yeah, I get it."

Vana then resumed walking. Eric should have been upset that Vana wanted to keep this all a secret, but for once, it did not bother him at all.

"One step at a time," he told himself aloud.

**The End**


End file.
